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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24118549">Kuroko No Basket: Gone</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hayleekogane/pseuds/hayleekogane'>hayleekogane</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:13:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,622</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24118549</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hayleekogane/pseuds/hayleekogane</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroko has been taken, how will Kagami get him back????</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akashi Seijuurou/Kuroko Tetsuya, Aomine Daiki/Kuroko Tetsuya, Kagami Taiga/Kuroko Tetsuya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Kuroko No Basket: Gone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kagami – After</p><p>It feels like I’m waking up from a good night’s sleep. I wish to the alarm clock gods to sleep for just ten more minutes. But as I reach for my pillow, I touch gravel. Huh… </p><p>I ran my fingers up and down, feeling coarse rocks and cement. </p><p>Where am I? </p><p>I blink my eyes open slowly, it’s dark, the only light coming from a street light about twenty-five yards away from me.</p><p>As I start to get a feeling and sensation returning to my body I realize I’m lying prone on the ground. I start to rise off the pavement, and look at my surroundings, waiting for everything to come back to me. The building across from me looks like Seirin High School. </p><p>So I’m at school…</p><p>I rack my brain trying to recall the events that led to this moment.</p><p>I know I was doing some extra practices with Kuroko at the gym, then we decided to call it a night… </p><p>Wait.</p><p>Where’s Kuroko?</p><p>Then it hits me like his name unlocked the memories I had been searching for.</p><p>Kuroko was taken.</p><p>I sit up straight and look around hoping that Kuroko will suddenly appear, but all I see is a dark speck a few feet ahead of me. I rise and walk over to it. The black speck came into focus and I was so shaken to see that it’s Kuroko’s black wrist band, abandoned and dirty. I lean down to pick it up. It's soft and cold. Cold because Kuroko is gone. </p><p>I close a tight fist around the band and before I can even think, I turn to the wall to my left, and with a yell, I punch the wall.</p><p>I will find him. I will save him.</p><p> </p><p>Kuroko – Before</p><p>While I do enjoy being a secret weapon for the team as I have been, I really want to learn and master more skills. If I’m going to be the best, I can’t ever stop growing or improving. It's when you stop trying that you truly fail. So I must learn as much as I can.</p><p>There’s no doubt that I am missing a lot of basic skills. I’m slow and uncoordinated when it comes to holding my own, but I want to change that. Which is why I have asked Kagami to help me out with some extra practices. Besides Aomine, Kagami is the best Basketball player that I know, he has the perfect build, the perfect knowledge, the skills, and I admire him so much, who better to learn from?</p><p>We’ve been going at it for forty-five minutes now, maybe in fifteen, we can call it a day. Maybe I’ll treat him to burgers at our favorite burger place. Yes. I’m going to do that. </p><p>“Hey! Kuroko! Stop daydreaming and focus!” </p><p>I shake my head, he’s right I need to focus. I look his way and it hits me again, how much I love him. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami – Before</p><p>Kuroko has really been improving, his stamina is better and I really think that he can handle some pressure while protecting the ball at the same time. I’m proud of him. He's been working so hard and he isn’t afraid to ask questions. I’ve noticed that when he really listens he does this cute eyebrow quirk. Damn, I love that eyebrow quirk.</p><p>We decide to wrap things up and as we clean the gym, Kuroko stops suddenly, “Kagami-kun.” He says in that soft voice of his, so quiet yet so enamoring.</p><p>“Yes?” I pause sweeping to look at him.</p><p>“Would you like to go get burgers? On me,” He asks with a cute look of determination. ‘On me’ he said it so confidently, I could almost see his back get a little straighter.</p><p>“Oh, I don’t know…” I trail off, completely aware of the fact that I am most definitely agreeing to dinner with Kuroko. I smirk at him, unable to keep a straight face, and then he starts to smile with me.</p><p>He nods, “Good, because if you said no, I’d have to invite Aomine…” he trails off before quickly running away laughing.</p><p>“Oh no, you wouldn’t,” I say with a laugh before giving chase. I watch Kuroko as he runs out the gym doors, and follow close behind. </p><p>But as I walk outside, breathing heavy with laughter, I see a black SUV, and Kuroko just ahead of me stopped in his tracks. My smile disappears as I realize that something terrible is about to happen.</p><p> </p><p>Kuroko – After</p><p>I wake up to the startling realization that I’m both blindfolded and have my feet and hands tied. And I have the sensation of being in a car. </p><p>How did I get here? Where am I? </p><p>I try to move around but to no avail, I’m stuck, besides moving a few inches in any direction I can’t do much else without hitting a wall. So I’m in a small space. </p><p>I feel so helpless. </p><p>I try to think back on where I was, and suddenly I’m hit with a vision of Kagami on the ground. I remember his panicked look, his eyes wide with nerves.</p><p>I remember thinking I have to protect him, so I left, I agreed to something I never wanted to do because I didn’t want him to get hurt.</p><p>He looked so sad when I walked away. His face, watery and filled with fury, was the last thing I saw before I was knocked out. </p><p>Kagami-kun, I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I love you.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami – During</p><p>I don’t recognize the SUV, but there’s something in Kuroko’s body language that tells me that he does. His whole body stiffens and he appears so much smaller. </p><p>He’s afraid.</p><p>I close the gap between us and step out in front of him. I turn my head back and ask him, “Kuroko, tell me what you’re thinking.”</p><p>His light blue eyes never leaving the car, he whispers, “Akashi is here.”</p><p>I cuss under my breath after we played his team and he lost, he reverted to his crazy other half and threatened Kuroko, claiming that we’d ‘see him again,’ like some b-list villain. I was upset, sure, I didn’t appreciate someone threatening my shadow like that, but I didn’t really think it would end up going anywhere. But here we are, Kuroko as pale as a ghost and quietly shaking, a black SUV waiting in front of us, engine off as if they’ve been waiting for a while. This was planned.</p><p>I should have known, I should have asked Kuroko about Akashi more, I should have realized that Akashi wouldn’t have made an empty threat. I mentally scream at myself, this is MY fault. </p><p>But there’s only one thing on my mind now, and that’s protecting Kuroko, he’s all that matters.</p><p>I stand in front of Kuroko, ready to take on anything that comes out of that car.</p><p>Suddenly the backdoor slides open to reveal pink-haired, orange and pink-eyed Akashi in a spotless perfectly tailored suit. He gracefully steps out of the car and shakes his head, “Tetsuya… Tetsuya…. Tetsuya…” </p><p>Akashi has this maniacal smile, this glint in his eyes, this gait in the way that he walks, even I start to get nervous. I glare in his direction, and right as I’m about to tell him to go crawling back into whatever hole he came from, he says, “Tetsuya I created you, and you need to remember that you’ll always be mine.”</p><p>Akashi said the word ‘mine’ with such finality, such possessiveness, it makes me think more of a toy than a person. </p><p>I hear a small gasp of air behind me and I turn to see Kuroko, who's usually such a happy, kind soul, now looking so hopeless. Like life had completely left him. In this moment I forget about Akashi and the car, all I see is Kuroko broken. </p><p>“Kuroko…” I whisper as I pull him into me, turning my back on Akashi for a moment, his face against my chest, my face in his hair. “Kuroko, I’ve got you, nothing is going to happen to you.” I give him one last squeeze and turn back to Akashi with renewed anger. </p><p>“What the hell do you want?” I seethe.</p><p>He smirks, “I want what’s mine.”</p><p>That's when three massive bodyguards get out of the van too.</p><p> </p><p>Kuroko – During</p><p>“I want what’s mine.”</p><p>I can feel his voice echoing in my mind, mine, mine, mine.</p><p>This is dark Akashi, not the Akashi I once called my friend, not the Akashi who helped me achieve my dreams. This is the Akashi of my nightmares. This Akashi is violent, possessive, and unpredictable.</p><p>He wants me, he thinks I’m his. I thought that maybe I might get through to the real Akashi when we played against each other a few months ago in the finals, but it looks like the Akashi I once knew is long gone. Leaving this twisted personality in his place. </p><p>I realize that I’m shaking, but not out of fear for myself, but out of fear for Kagami. My light. My love. He’s trying to protect me, but he doesn’t realize that Akashi isn’t just determined and scary, but he’s powerful too. Akashi is the son of a lord, he’s basically a prince, the same laws don’t apply to him and he has unimaginable resources. These bodyguards that just got out of the van are deadly, just one could take us all out, but three? There’s no escape. Akashi made sure of that.</p><p>I hear Kagami’s voice centering me, bringing me back to the situation, “He’s not yours, he is a person.” I notice that his voice is rough, he’s angry, soon reason won’t reach him.</p><p>I’m about to reach out to him when he charges at the guards, full of adrenaline he launches himself without a second thought.</p><p>“No! Kagami-kun!” I shout, but it doesn’t seem to reach him as the first fist lands on his cheek. He is no match for these trained professionals. Soon the three of them have Kagami completely surrounded and pinned on the ground. I need to do something, I need to protect him.</p><p>“Stop.” I say quietly.</p><p>Akashi hears my command and holds a hand up to halt the brutality of his officers.</p><p>The silence is deafening, all I hear is Kagami’s ragged breathing, and I know I’ve made the right choice.</p><p>“I’ll come with you,” I tell Akashi. I hear muffled dissent from Kagami but I can’t look at him, not yet.</p><p>Akashi’s grin grows bearing all his white teeth that look more like fangs, a predator. “I thought you might come around.”</p><p>“Just let Kagami go and I’ll come, no more fighting,” I look Akashi in the eye solemnly.</p><p>Akashi nods and the guards drag Kagami away from the SUV, back towards the gym and I walk the opposite direction. For a brief moment, I can feel Kagami’s eyes on me as we cross each other, but I still can’t look. I know if I see his face, I’ll crack, and the tears will fall. I don’t want Kagami to feel any worse or more burdened than he already does.</p><p>I hear the guards drop Kagami roughly on the ground just as I reach the car. I look up to see Akashi, his face too close to my own. I can feel the heat of his breath on my cheek as he leans in to whisper in my ear, “remember, you are mine…” he spins me around before I know what’s happening and I get one last look at Kagami, the guards left him after dropping his beat-up body on the ground and I can see that he’s fighting for consciousness. </p><p>I finally give myself permission to look him in the eye, and I can see the pain and torment in his eyes. I give him a small smile as if to let him know that I’m ok. That I’m gonna be fine, but then the tears start to fall and I know that I can’t hide anything from him. I mouth the words, “I love you.” Just as his eyes start to drift shut. And I feel at peace knowing that no more harm will come to him. He will be safe.</p><p>“He doesn’t deserve you” I hear Akashi’s voice behind me, “he can’t control you, he has no power over you, you are not his, you have been and always will be mine.”</p><p>“I’m yours” I hear myself say back.</p><p>“Good.”</p><p>Then with a sudden pain to the back of my head, everything goes black.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami - After</p><p>How do I find Akashi? I run into the gym to grab my bag with my phone. I come to a sudden stop when I see that Kuroko’s stuff is still in here too. I kick the bench that they’re sitting on, in frustration, and once I recollect myself. I reach for my phone.</p><p>I scroll through my contacts, and when I find Kise’s name I call him immediately. The phone’s ringing, and after a few moments that feel like an eternity I hear his voice, “Hello?”</p><p>I pause, how do I even start this conversation?</p><p>His voice comes on again, “Hello? Kagami??”</p><p>“Kise,” I start, my voice rougher than I thought it would be, “Kise, Akashi just took Kuroko.”</p><p>The air over the line shifts and I can feel him take in the seriousness of the situation, “Where are you?” his voice flattened with fury.</p><p>“We– I’m at school right now,” I answer lamely. Momentarily forgetting that I’m alone now.</p><p>“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Kise explains but before he hangs up he adds, “and you should call Aomine.”</p><p>And with a click, he’s gone.</p><p> </p><p>Kuroko – After</p><p>I have no idea how much time has passed. I have no clue how long I was out. I could be anywhere by now. I feel the car driving along, we’ve been moving pretty fast and with very few stops, we must be on a highway of some kind. No longer in the city. I’m far away, so far away… </p><p>Suddenly I feel the car start to slow down and I feel the SUV making a left turn. We leave the highway for a rocky unpaved road, I can feel every bump, every rock. I hope that this doesn’t take too much longer since I don’t know how much of this road that I can take. But then again, I have no idea what could be waiting for me when we reach our destination. Maybe I want this road to take a really really long time. </p><p>But we come to a stop, and suddenly I start to feel panic. It's really starting to hit me, how scared I am. How much I really wish to be back home with Kagami, playing basketball. That's not the reality though. I’m with Akashi and I have no clue where we are or how far away Kagami is. I hope he’s okay, I hope he’s not too mad at me. </p><p>As I send Kagami my hopeful thoughts, I hear the sound of car doors opening and closing followed by the sound of footsteps crunching on rocks. </p><p>I can barely catch the distant voice of Akashi, “bring him to the room we’ve discussed…” then I notice the sound of his steps retreating.</p><p>Then I can hear the guards coming my way, crunch, crunch, crunch….</p><p>I instinctively start to squirm, trying anything to get out, but just as before there’s nowhere for me to go, nowhere for me to run.</p><p>There’s a clicking and suddenly there’s a cold breeze hitting my face, and I can smell trees, we’re in nature. Then I feel large hands grabbing my shirt and pulling me out of the car.</p><p>I’m yanked up and placed over the shoulder of one of the guards. I try to wriggle out of his grasp, but then a hand violently grabs my face as a low voice commands, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”</p><p>I try to shake him off moving my head around but then a punch comes out of nowhere. I groan in shock and pain. I can taste the blood in my mouth.</p><p>“I warned you,” and I can practically hear this man smiling. He’s enjoying this.</p><p>Maybe Akashi isn’t the only person I should be afraid of.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami – After</p><p>Call Aomine? Why does the idea of telling Aomine about what happened to Kuroko fill me with such terror?</p><p>But Kise is right I should tell him, he’ll probably be helpful. </p><p>Ok.</p><p>I dial his number and it goes to voicemail, “Damn it!” I hiss, and when the beep goes off I shout, “Aomine, I know you’re there, you need to pick up your phone. It's about Kuroko.”</p><p>So I dial his number again, and after a few rings he answers, “What happened to Tetsu?”</p><p>I pause, “Akashi took him.”</p><p>I wait for his response but it doesn’t come. “Aomine?”</p><p>I give him a few more seconds, “Aom-”</p><p>“Where are you?” He asks scarily.</p><p>“Seirin.”</p><p>Then the line goes dead.</p><p> </p><p>Kuroko – After</p><p>After walking in what I assume is a building, the guard drops me into a chair. They start to untie my hands and feet, removing my blindfold last.</p><p>When my eyes start to focus. I look around the room, it's extremely bare. My chair is in the very middle of the room. One sleeping mat lays on the ground in the corner behind me on my left. In front of me are typical thin paper squared walls. Directly to my right is an open door revealing a small bath, toilet, and sink. The room is average-sized, but the bareness gives the impression that it's vast. There are no windows, clocks, or electronics. The only light is a small yellowish light on the ceiling. I look on the walls and notice that there aren’t any light switches. So I can’t even control that.</p><p>There are two guards in my room with me, and I can see the shadow of the third man outside in the hall through the thin walls. I look up at the two guards that are with me. The first man, who’s the closest to me, he’s unremarkable in features, plain in every conceivable way, but he’s large and clearly bulky, he could even give Murasakibura a run for his money. He must have been the one carrying me then. The man next to him standing just a little behind has dark features. Sunken eyes, black irises, and hunched shoulders masking his real size. He’s smaller than the first man but there’s something sinister in him that gives me chills. This must have been the man who had hit me earlier outside the car. I come to the decision that I hate him.</p><p>The large man approaches me with what looks like a bundle of clothes in his arms and sets it in my lap. “Please get cleaned up in the bathroom and get dressed, Akashi-sama would like to speak with you as soon as possible.”</p><p>He backs away making his exit leaving me alone with the snake-like one. He smirks at me as he closes the gap between us. Before I can prepare myself he reaches over my head and grabs my hair lifting me up out of my seat, I struggle, kicking my legs, I try to grasp at his arm to get him to let go but before I can do anything he uses his free arm to punch my stomach, knocking the wind out of me.</p><p>I collapse on the floor gasping for air.</p><p>“I don’t get it,” he says quizzically, more to himself than to me. Before kicking my side, knocking me down again, and exiting the room. </p><p>Now that I’m alone, I let myself cry. Alone, on the ground, and hurting. This was the right choice. This was the only choice. I steal myself and slowly rise off the ground.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami – After</p><p>I lean against the wall outside of the gym and let myself sink on to the ground. I drop my head in my hands. I’m still holding Kuroko’s black band. I take his band and place in on my own wrist for safekeeping. I put my head in my hands and let my mind wander. Kuroko. Kuroko. Kuroko.</p><p>The last thing I saw of him was him mouthing the words, “I love you.” But he was crying. He was crying. I never want to see him cry again, I never want to see him so broken again. But I can’t let the sadness win, I can’t give in. So instead I focus my energy on those two eyes, one orange and one pink. And I let the rage settle in. I am so furious it's almost maddening. </p><p>The first time I met Akashi he threw a pair of scissors at my face, drawing blood. And that was him relatively calm and bored. What could he be doing to Kuroko? Is he safe? Is he hurt? I can only hope that Akashi, while clearly messed up in the head, wouldn't hurt Kuroko. Maybe this weird obsession will keep Kuroko safe. That's the only thing keeping me going, my hope that Kuroko is safe and unhurt. The idea that he could be alone, scared, and in pain, is just too much for me to handle. </p><p>All of a sudden I hear quick footsteps coming my way, getting louder and faster. “Kise?” I ask loudly.</p><p>But the only response I get is a loud growl as the steps get even closer. This person is running. I finally look up and I see Aomine coming straight for me. Murder in his eyes.</p><p>Kuroko – After</p><p>I took a quick bath in the small bathroom off my main quarters. The bathroom is strange, there are no mirrors. I have no idea how I look. My face is probably bruised from the guard earlier, and my eyes are probably red and swollen from my breakdown. I’m a mess. Maybe I look so bad that Akashi will return me. Ha ha.</p><p>I look at the pile of clothes that the large guard gave me. It contains a pair of black slacks, more expensive than anything that I own at home, and a white button-up dress shirt. </p><p>They fit perfectly. It's terrifying how he did that, but of course, he knows my exact size and dimensions, he’s Akashi.</p><p>I walk out of the bathroom and punch a hole in the wall next to the door. I don’t feel any better.</p><p>I saunter towards the door, and the large guard must have heard me approach and opens the door to greet me. He gives me a look up and down pausing only slightly on my right hand, where blood is trickling on the floor. When his gaze reaches my face again, I make sure to give him the coldest angry glare I can muster. But his expression doesn’t change. </p><p>He pulls out a blindfold, “Turn around.” I follow his command and wait for the blindfold to cover my vision. The room, the one thing that's now familiar to me, disappears as he tightens the knot on the back of my head.</p><p>“Alright turn around again and put out your hands” I do as he asks, and he places ties on my wrists again, and I can tell that they are connected to a longer rope that he must be planning to use to guide me. I feel so humiliated, like a dog. But I don’t want to give in so I straighten my back and put my chin up. Setting my jaw.</p><p>“Try not to trip.”</p><p>And he pulls me along, to meet with Akashi.</p><p>Kagami – After </p><p>Aomine has hatred in his eyes, looking wild. I jump up to my feet just as he reaches me. Aomine grabs my shirt pulling me forward then slamming me into a wall.</p><p>“How could you let this happen?!” He demands.</p><p>“I tried to–”</p><p>“Tried?! You Tried! Not hard enough, he’s gone and with that psychopath!” He screams.</p><p>He pulls his right arm back for a hit while still holding me down with his left. </p><p>“I trusted you to protect him! To make him happy! What can you say for yourself?”</p><p>I look him in the eye, I honestly want him to scream at me, I want him to yell, to hit me, I deserve it. This is all my fault. I don’t say anything.</p><p>Aomine shifts his weight to launch into a hit, and I welcome it. His arm comes barreling forward, I close my eyes, preparing for the blow, and I hear a smack.</p><p>But I don’t feel anything. I open my eyes and I see a hand holding Aomine’s fist, I look to my left and see–</p><p>“Kise” Aomine breathes.</p><p>We both watch him as he says, “Aomine, everything you are feeling, all that anger, all that blame,” he turns to me, “Kagami is already feeling that towards himself ten-fold.”</p><p>I look down at my feet. </p><p>Aomine releases my shirt and steps back catching his breath. </p><p>Kise watches Aomine for a moment to ensure that Aomine’s calmed down. Then once he feels confident he turns to me, “Walk us through exactly what happened here.”</p><p>I tell them every single detail, how everything was completely normal until we saw the SUV waiting outside. The panic and sadness I saw in Kuroko, the way he shook when he realized who had come for him. Aomine stiffens when I tell them about the look Kuroko gave me and the tears that fell down his cheeks as I lost consciousness. </p><p>“How much danger is Kuroko in right now?” I ask them, feeling ashamed by my own lack of awareness. I look at them both hoping for a positive answer.</p><p>Aomine looks at the ground and walks away from us, lost in thought. I turn to Kise, but Kise is already watching me. His eyes appear so tired, “I think Kuroko is in an extremely dangerous situation right now. And I’m not sure if he’ll make it out alive.”</p><p>No.</p><p>I hear Aomine yell in the distance.</p><p>Take a breath, in… and out… I calm myself. “How can we save him?”</p><p>Aomine joins us again, and Kise answers, “I need to think for a moment. There’s a lot to consider. We need Midorima’s mind on this, I’ll text him to come meet us immediately.” Kise starts typing quickly.</p><p>I look at my phone, it's about 8:50 pm. Kuroko’s been gone for almost three hours now. So much can happen in three hours. So much.</p><p>Kise puts his phone away when he’s finished, and looks at us, “There are some things that you need to realize Kagami before we take any action. Akashi is the son of a lord, he’s powerful. He has virtually unlimited resources and laws don’t hinder him like a normal person. A death sentence for us would be nothing but a slap on the wrist for him.” He looks me in the eye, making sure that I’m realizing the gravity of what he’s saying. I nod slowly to show him that I understand. He continues, “we can’t get assistance from police because there’s nothing that they can do against Akashi. If we take action, we will be taking action alone.”</p><p>I let that sink in. Kuroko hasn’t done anything wrong, he doesn’t deserve this. He just has this uncanny ability to befriend everybody. He is loveable and kind and it attracts everyone, apparently even dangerous people. </p><p>Before I chance to answer Aomine breaks the silence, “If we take action? If? Kuroko is important to us, he would do anything if the situation were reversed. If? IF? I WILL be taking action, I’m going to get him back and I’m going to do what Kagami should have done in the first place.”</p><p>‘What Kagami should have done in the first place,’ I failed. I tried and I failed. Any harm that Kuroko is coming to right now, is because of me.</p><p>Kise steps in, “Aomine, you crossed a line–”</p><p>“No, he’s right” I interrupt, I place my hand on my chest just above my heart. Where I last held onto Kuroko. “It is my fault, and I will carry the weight of that for the rest of my life. Which is why I will do everything in my power to get him back. There’s nothing you can say Aomine that I haven’t already said to myself. Now stop wasting time blaming me for something that I already agree with you on, what’s important is saving Kuroko. Now, what’s our first step?”</p><p> </p><p>Kuroko – After</p><p>After ten minutes of being pulled along, turn after turn, and hall after hall, we reach the destination. I heard a door slide open and I’m pulled in, then I hear the door close behind me. </p><p>The guard guides me to an armed wooden chair. I sit down and the ties are taken off my wrists, then he removes the blindfold. I am sitting at the head of a very long dining room table, the room is dark only lit by the glow coming from a grand chandelier above the table and a huge fireplace to my right. I look across the table. There are only two chairs, the one I’m currently sitting in and an empty chair opposite of me, where I can only assume is where Akashi will be sitting. I attempt to stand up to investigate the room, but two hands push my shoulders back down, so I collapse into my chair again. I completely forgot about my guard. He must be standing right behind my chair. Watching. Waiting.</p><p>I focus on the fire flickering in the fireplace. I try to forget about the world I’ve found myself in, but before I can lose myself I hear the sound of a door opening and closing across from me. I slowly turn my head away from the flames to see him. </p><p>He’s wearing a white suit now, very different from the black he was wearing earlier. He entered through a door on the other side of the room from where I am. He looks me in the eye and I feel paralyzed, I want to run, I want to leave, but I can’t move. I can still feel the weight of the hands-on my shoulders, pinning me down. There’s no escape.</p><p>Akashi crosses the room, coming closer to me, the firelight making his eyes twinkle in the most horrifying way, emphasizing the shadows of his face with its flickering highlights. I stop breathing as he reaches me on my left. He reaches his hands out to grab my face but before I can stop myself I wave my left arm around and slap his hands away, whatever kindness was in his face before he leaves as he grabs my left arm, gripping so tightly I fear for my bones. I grimace.</p><p>After a few moments, he tosses my arm away and proceeds to grab my face with both hands, pulling me towards him. He tilts my head roughly to get a good look at the bruise that I’m sure is blooming there. He tsks, clicking his tongue three times as he straightens my head again so that I’m facing him.</p><p>He’s so close, I can barely focus on his face, “Tetsuya…” he sighs, “I’m the only one allowed to touch you like this. How dare you allow someone else to color your face in such a way.”</p><p>I try to pull away from him, but he holds on tighter. Then caresses my cheekbones with his thumbs, “Tetsuya, you have changed. Do you no longer like me? Do you not wish to be here with me? Has Kagami and that Seirin team brainwashed you so?” He inches even closer, “I’ll fix that soon enough. Sleep well. Tomorrow we’ll have some fun.” He kisses my hair slowly and then leaves the room.</p><p>Before I know it the blindfold is back, my hands are bound, and I’m being pulled back to my room. I don’t know what Akashi has planned for tomorrow, but I need to get out of here and fast.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami – After</p><p>A chime answers my question before anyone else can say anything, Kise picks up his phone, “It’s Midorima,” he explains.</p><p>Kise looks his phone over then says, “Ok Midorima says he can meet with us first thing tomorrow morning.”</p><p>Aomine stomps his feet, “Tomorrow? We might already be too late!”</p><p>Kise responds, “I know, but we can’t accomplish anything without his help, he has the biggest knowledge about Akashi and his family. He’s our best chance at finding Kuroko. And he’s refusing to do anything today because Saturn is in retrograde or something.”</p><p>I look at Kise and Aomine helplessly, “what am I supposed to do while I wait? I can’t stop thinking about Kuroko and how much he needs me right now. I need to help him and right now I’m feeling pretty useless. What am I supposed to do?”</p><p>To my surprise, it's Aomine who answers, “Hope. Don’t lose hope for Tetsu. And don’t let go of that anger I see in your eyes. We’ll need that. And I know that I feel comfort in knowing that you care about him just as much as I do.” He places a hand on my shoulder, “We’ll get him back.” He turns to Kise, “Text me the place and time that we’re meeting tomorrow. I’ll be there.”</p><p>He pats my shoulder one more time then let's go, “Tomorrow we go to war.” And it felt like a promise.</p><p> </p><p>END PART ONE</p>
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